FROM   THE   LIBRARY   OF 

REV.    LOUIS    FITZGERALD    BENSON.   D.  D. 

BEQUEATHED    BY   HIM    TO 

THE   LIBRARY  OF 

PRINCETON   THEOLOGICAL   SEMINARY 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 

in  2012  with  funding  from 

Princeton  Theological  Seminary  Library 


http://archive.org/details/worthtoOOedmo 


FROM    EPWORTH    TO     LONDON 

WITH 

JOHN  WESLEY, 

BEING 

FIFTY   PHOTO-FNGRAVINGS 

OK    THIi: 

SACRED    PLACES   OF   METHODISM, 

WITH   DESCRIPTIONS    FROM    NOTES    WRITTEN    ESPECIALLY 
FOR   THESE    VIEWS   BY 

GEORGE  JOHN   STEVENSON,  M.  A,,  of  London,  Enoland, 

AND  COMPILED  F'OR  THIS  WORK    BY   THE    PHOTOGRAPHER  WHO   MADE  THE  NEGATIVES    "ON   THE    SPOT,'' 

G.  W.  EDMONDSON. 


CLEVELAND,  OHIO: 

THE    CLEVELAND    PRINTING    AND    PUBLISHING   CO. 


DEDICATION 


TO   THAT    KINDLY,    HKLPFUL,    LOVIXG,    CHRISTIAN    MAN, 

GEORGE  JOHN   STEVENSON, 

TO    WHOM    SO    MANY 

AMERICAN    METHODISTS    VISITING    LONDON 

ARE    INDEBTED    FOR    UNREQUITED    KINDNESSES, 

THIS    BOOK 

IS  GRATEFULLY    DEDICATED. 


INTRODUCTION 


How  little  we  know  in  what  way  the  words  we  utter 
ma)-  affect  those  hearinc^  them  was  exemplified  in  the 
case  of  the  person  making"  the  following  remark  in  the  pres- 
ence of  the  illustrator  of  this  work.  The  words  were  to  this 
effect  :  "  That  the  interest  in  the  life  and  writings  of  the 
Founder  of  Methodism  was  waning,  and  that  something 
should  be  done  to  awaken  a  desire  amongst  Methodists  to 
know  more  of  John   Wesley." 

Nothing,   it  seemed,   could   more    effectually  achieve  this 
than  to  present  to  that  people  photographs  and  data,   taken 


and  collected  "  on  the  spot,"  of  places  made  sacred  to  all 
Methodists  by  their  association  with  the  Wesleys.  It  was 
resolved  to  carry  out  the  idea.  The  trip  to  Eno^land  was 
undertaken  ;  the  negatives  were  made,  sometimes  under  try- 
ing circumstances  and  against  unreasonable  opposition;  the 
information  and  data  were  kindly  furnished  by  the  then  best 
historian  of  Methodism  living,  and  this  book  is  the  result. 
If  it  shall  prove  of  value  as  an  educator  to  the  Methodists  of 
America,   the  labor  and  expense  will  not  have  been  in  vain. 

G.  W.  E. 


THl:    \  ILLAGH    OF    WINTERBOURNE- WHITCHURCH. 


THE   VILLAGE    OF   WINTERBOURNE-WHITCHURCH. 


THIS  is  a  Parish  and  one-street  village  in  the  County  of 
Dorset,   in  the  South  of  England.      It  forms  the  fourth 
portion  of  a   Rural  Deanery,   is  five  miles  from  Bland- 
ford,   and  is  built  on  the   River  Winterbourne. 

The  Minister  of  this  Parish  from  1651-62  was  the  Rev. 
John  Wesley,  M.  A.,  father  of  the  Rev.  Samuel  Wesley, 
Rector  of  Epworth,  and  grandfather  of  John  and  Charles 
Wesley,   founders  of  Methodism. 

Samuel  Wesley  was  born  in  this  village  in  the  Summer 
of  1662,  just  before  his  father  was  expelled  from  the  living 
in  August  of  that  year  by  the  Act  of  Uniformity.  His  birth 
is  recorded  in  the  Church  Register  and  the  date  of  his  bap- 
tism.    There  is  a  small   Wesle)an   Chapel  in  the  village. 


THE    OLD    CHURCH    AT    WINTERBOURNE 


THE   OLD    CHURCH    AT   WINTERBOURNE. 

HERE  we  have  a  near  view  of  the  quaint  old  English 
Country  Church  at  Winterbourne  -  Whitchurch,  the 
square  Tower  of  which  may  be  discerned  in  the  far 
distance  of  the  view  oi  the  village  in  preceding  picture.  The 
Church  will  seat  all  the  inhabitants,  427,  parents  and  chil- 
dren. The  Clerg)man's  salary  is  only  $545.00  per  annum. 
There  is  a  beautifully  decorated  Font  in  this  Church,  dated 
1450;  the  Parish  is  a  very  old  one,  and  in  the  chancel  are 
mural  tablets  to  some  of  the  former  Vicars.  The  Church 
Register  dates  from    1579. 


THH    NORTH-EAST    VIEW    OF    EPWORTH    CHURCH 


THE   NORTH-EAST   VIEW   OF   EPWORTH    CHURCH. 


EPWORTH  is  a  remarkable  old  town,  very  ancient,  built 
in  the  midst  of  the  Fen  district  of  Lincolnshire,  on  a 
slightly  rising  ground,  and  is  the  chief  place  on  what 
is  known  as  the  Isle  of  Axholme,  being  surrounded  with 
rivers,  and  formerly  was  in  the  midst  of  overflowing  waters, 
so  that  Samuel  Wesley  had  occasionally  to  visit  villages 
near  by  in  a  boat,   taking  his  horse  with  him. 

Leaving  the  old  country  Inn,  with  its  sanded  floor  of 
stone  flagging,  comfortable  beds  and  glorious  "  roast  beef  of 
old  England,"  the  visitor  soon  approaches  a  small  avenue 
of  trees  leading  up  a  slight  eminence,  on  which  stands 
Epworth  Church,  visible  for  miles  around. 


TOMB    OF    SAMUEL    WESLEY    AS    IT    NOW    APPEARS. 


TOMB   OF   SAMUEL   WESLEY   AS    IT   NOW    APPEARS. 


ONLY  the  covering  slab  remains  of  the  original  Tomb, 
which  was  restored  in    1872,  at  the  sole  cost  of   Mrs. 
Lucy    Reade,    then    living    in   the   High   Street,    Ep- 
worth. 


ANCIENT    FONT— HPWORTH    CHURCH. 


ANCIENT   FONT— EPWORTH   CHURCH. 


THIS  is  an  old  Saxon  Font,  which  is  said  to  have  come 
from  a  still  older  Church.  It  stands  under  the  Tower 
at  the  west  end,  where  is  also  the  chief  entrance  door, 
which  is  visible  in  the  picture.  Ordinarily  a  modern  Gothic 
cover  adorns  this  Font,  but  it  was  kindly  replaced  for  us  by 
the  old  cover  actually  in  use  when  Samuel  Wesley  was 
Rector 


EP  WORTH    RFCTORY. 


EPWORTH    RECTORY. 


THE  "Rectory  House"  at  Epworth,  as  built  at  the  cost 
of  Samuel  Wesley  in  1710,  and  with  recent  addition 
of  wing  on  left.  None  of  the  members  of  the  Wesley 
family  were  born  in  that  edifice.  Charles,  the  poet,  was  the 
last  born  in  the  old  Rectory,  in  December,  1 707, — it  was 
burnt  down  in  1 709 — and  Kezia,  the  nineteenth  child,  was 
born  a  month  after  the  fire,   in  the  house  of  a  neighbor. 

The  original  Rectory  is  described  as  a  building  "  all  of 
timber  and  plaister  and  covered  all  with  straw  thatche  ;  " — 
so  that  it  became  ready  fuel  to  the  fire  that  on  February 
9th,  1709,   nearly  deprived  the  world  of  a  John  Wesley. 


SIDE    VIEW    OF    EPWORTH    RECTORY. 


SIDE   VIEW   OF   EPWORTH    RECTORY. 


MADE  interesting  from  the   fact  that  it  shows  the  loca- 
tion   of    the    window    from    which    John   Wesley   was 
rescued    at   the   age   of   six    years    from    the    burning 
Rectory. 

The  window  is  located  in  the  end  of  the  building,  just 
above  and  to  the  right  of  the  top  of  the  right-hand  gate- 
post, nearly  hidden  with  ivy,  and  could  be  reached  by  one 
man  standing  on  another  man's  back,  as  is  represented  in 
the  celebrated  engraving  of  the  "  Escape  from  the  Fire," 
though  that  engraving  is  incorrect,  as  it  is  impossible  to  see 
the  Church  from  the  Rectory. 


THE    HAUNTED    CHAMBER— EPWORTH    RECTORY. 


THE  HAUNTED   CHAMBER— EPWORTH    RECTORY. 

4  6  JEFFREY'S  ROOM,"  or  the  Haunted  Chamber,  still 
yl  bears  the  name  given  to  it  by  Emelia  Wesley,  after 
an  old  man  who  died  there.  This  is  the  room 
where  in  1716  those  strange  noises  were  heard  which  have 
made  the  Haunted  Chamber  known  wherever  the  Wesley 
family  is  known.  Wesley  mentions  the  occurrences  in  his 
Journal. 

The  floor  of  this  attic  is  made  of  gypsum,  and  reverber- 
ates in  a  remarkable  way  through  the  house.  Below  this 
was  the  Nursery,  the  scene  of  the  Ghost's  earliest  and  most 
remarkable  exploits.  The  light  entering  the  room  comes 
from  a  dormer  window  easily  accessible  from  the  outside, 
and  it  is  now  believed  that,  whoever  or  whatever  made  the 
noises  that  so  disturbed  the  Wesley  family,  their  cause  was 
introduced  through  this  window. 


MARKET    CROSS— EPWORTH. 


MARKET   CROSS— EPWORTH. 


IN  bidding  "good-bye"  to  Epworth,  we   pass  this   Market 
Cross,   made  famous  from  the  fact  that  from  these  worn 
steps    surrounding    it    John    Wesley    often    preached    to 
two  thousand  or  more  people,  as  recorded  in   his  Journal. 


THE    CHARTERHOUSE— WESLEY'S    SCHOOL. 


THE   CHARTERHOUSE— WESLEY'S    SCHOOL. 


ON  entering  Charterhouse  Square,  London,  we  face  this 
portion  of  the  venerable  pile  of  buildings  known  as 
"  The  Charterhouse."  Five  centuries  ago  it  was  a 
famous  Monastery,  founded  by  a  company  of  Monks  from 
Chartreuse,  in  France.  One  "Bruno"  founded  there  this 
first  order  of  "  Carthusians,"  which  name  still  clings  to  the 
pupils  of  the  Charterhouse  School.  The  Monastery  was 
suppressed  by  Henry  YHI  and  the  property  sold  to  one  of 
his  favorites,  the  Duke  of  Norfolk,  in  1565,  for  $12,500. 
He  offended  the  King  and  was  beheaded  in  1572.  Queen 
Elizabeth  spent  some  days  there  ;  so  did  King  James  I,  and 
he  there  knighted  eighty  gentlemen. 


CHARTERHOUSE— ENTRANCE   TO    MASTER'S   COURT. 


THE    Porter's    Lodge    has    been   passed,    a    little    nook 
hidden  in  the  large  archway  seen  in  preceding  view, 
and  credentials  having  proved  satisfactory,   the  visitor 
is  now   in  the   first  court  in   front  of  the  archway    under    the 
residence    of    the   Master    of   Charterhouse,   which    forms   the 
entrance  to  "  Master's  Court,"   seen  in  the  next  picture. 


THE    CHARTERHOUSE— IN    THE    A\ASTER'S    COURT. 


CHARTERHOUSE— IN   THE    MASTER'S   COURT, 

OR    DINING    HALL    QUADRANGLE. 

WE  are  facing  the  three    large  windows  that  light  the 
Dining  Hall  and  the  entrance  door  over  which  are 
the    Royal   Arms    of   Great    Britain,    whilst    in    the 
sun-dial  above  the  upper  windows   is  the  Coat    of  Arms    of 
the  founder  of  the  Charterhouse. 

In  1611,  Thomas  Sutton  bought  this  property  from 
Lord  Howard,  Earl  of  Suffolk,  for  sixty-five  thousand  dollars, 
and  obtained  a  charter  to  there  found  a  Hospital  for  eighty 
gentlemen  of  decayed  fortunes,  and  a  Free  School  for  forty 
poor  boys.  One  of  the  boys  educated  there  in  later  years 
was  John  Wesley,  who  endured  many  hardships  during  his 
school  days,  such  as  having  all  his  meat  snatched  from  him 
at  dinner  by  stronger  and  larger  boys. 


CHARTERHOUSE— THH    DINING     HALL. 


CHARTERHOUSE— THE   DINING    HALL 


HERE  are  the  cloths  laid  preparatory  to  the  daily  dinner 
of  the  forty  pensioners,  at  3   P.  M. 
The  dark  oak-paneled    walls    and    massive  fire-place, 
with  its  brass   "andirons"   or  "dogs,"   easily  carry  one  back 
to  the  times  of  Knight  Errantry. 

Over  the  fire-place  is  the  Coat  of  Arms  of  the  founder, 
and  higher  still  a  Gallery,  leading  to  a  wider  one  at  the  end 
of  Hall,  in  which  concerts  are  occasionally  given  to  cheer 
and  entertain  the  aged  pensioners. 


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CHARTERHOUSE— GALLERY    IN    DINING    HALL. 


CHARTERHOUSE— GALLERY   IN   DINING   HALL. 


THIS  is  a  near  view  (valuable  to  the  architect  as  giving 
detail)  of  the  Gallery    mentioned  on  preceding  page, 
showing  the  curious    square    Elizabethan   finials,   with 
their  quaint  carving  and  the  construction  of  the  roof. 

In  this  Dining  Hall,  the  novelist  Thackeray  and  the 
caricaturist  John  Leech,  whose  satirical  sketches  of  the 
follies  of  society  in  "  Punch  "  made  him  so  celebrated,  sat 
at  the  Annual  Dinner  to  the  Carthusians,  a  few  months 
before  they  died,  chatting  of  old  times  with  the  old  gentle- 
men pensioners. 


CHARTERHOUSE— FIRE-PLACE    IN    THE    "FOUNDATION    BOYS'"    DINING    HALL. 


CHARTERHOUSE— FIRE-PLACE, 

IN    THE    "  FOUNDATION    BOVs'  "    DINING    HALL. 


THE  old  solid  tables  and  heavy  seats,  like  those  by  the 
fire-place  in  the  picture,  are    still  kept    in    this  room, 
though  in  a  neglected    condition  of  piled  up  lumber. 
It  was  in  this  room  that   Wesley    ate    what    was  left  to 
him    of   the    meals    served    here  to  the    "  Foundation   Boys," 
as  they  were  called. 

A  door  to  the  right  corner  opens  into  the  Great  Dining 
Hall. 


CHARTERHOUSE— THE    CLOISTERS. 


CHARTERHOUSE— THE   CLOISTERS. 


IN  these  Cloisters  the  "  Foundation  Boys "  used  to  play 
in  wet  weather. 

The  flat  roof  above  the  arched  groinings  forms  an  open 
promenade,  commanding  a  view  of  all  the  play-ground  and 
of  the  mansions  of  the  Dukes  of  Norfolk  and  Suffolk.  The 
blank  wall  opposite  to  the  open  arches  was  formerly  pierced 
with  doors  leading  to  cold,  dreary  cells,  where  the  Carthusian 
Monks  were  shut  in.  There  was  one  small  opening,  through 
which  their  scanty  meals  were  passed.  The  plan  of  these 
openings  would  be  represented  by  the  letter  V  laid  flat. 
The  janitor  who  brought  the  food  would  reach  down  one 
arm  of  the  V  from  the  outside  of  the  wall,  leaving  the  food 
at  the  point  ;  the  poor  Monk  could  then  reach  it  from  his 
side  the  wall,  and  neither  of  them  could  see  the  other. 

It  was  hard  fare  for  those  religious  ascetics.  John 
Wesley  tells  us  that  even  in  his  day  he  seldom  rose  from 
the  table  without  having  appetite  for  more  food. 


CHARTKRHOUSE— PART    OF    PLAY- GROUND. 


CHARTERHOUSE— PART   OF   PLAY-GROUND. 


HERE,   on  the  left,   we  see  a  portion  of  the  grass  play- 
ground,  with    the    wide    gravel  walk    around    it,    over 
which  John  Wesley,  by  the  advice  of  his  father,  used 
to  run  three  times  every  morning  to  get  an  appetite  for  his 
bread  and  milk  breakfast. 

The  buildings  to  the  left  formed  the  residence  of  the 
Dukes  of  Norfolk  and  Suffolk,  over  which  is  seen  the 
Church  Tower.  The  higher  buildings  to  the  right  were 
known  as  "The  Palace,"  in  the  stately  rooms  of  which 
Queen   Elizabeth  and   King  James  held  state. 

The  exterior  of  the  Cloisters,  with  its  flat  roof  mentioned 
in  preceding  description,  is  noticed  on  the  right.  At  the  end 
of  these  Cloisters  was  the  school-room  where  \\  esley  studied. 


CHARTERHOUSE-A    CORNER    IN    THE    CHAPEL. 


CHARTERHOUSE— A   CORNER   IN   THE   CHAPEL. 


THE    greater    portion  of   the  Tomb  of  Thomas    Sutton, 
the  founder  of  Charterhouse,  is  seen  enclosed  in  iron 
rails.       Of  him  we  will  not    speak,    although  he  may 
be    called    the    "  Savior    of    England "    at    the    time    of    the 
Spanish  Armada. 

In  front  of  this  monument  are  four  pews.  In  each  of 
these  pews  ten  of  the  "  F"oundation  Boys,"  Wesley  amongst 
them,  used  to  sit  every  morning  and  evening  at  daily 
prayers. 


CHRIST    CHURCH    COLLEGE,    OXFORD. 


CHRIST   CHURCH    COLLEGE,   OXFORD. 


ONE   week  after  his  seventeenth  birthday,  John  Wesley 
entered  Oxford  University  in  June,   1720,   his  under- 
graduate   days,    Hke    those    of   his    brothers    Samuel 
and     Charles,     being     spent     at     Christ     Church,      Cardinal 
Wolsey's  College. 

At  the  age  of  twenty-one,  William  Badcock  describes 
Wesley  as  "  the  very  sensible  and  acute  collegian,  baffling 
every  man  by  the  subtleties  of  his  logic,  and  laughing  at 
them  for  being  so  easily  routed — a  young  fellow  of  the 
finest  classical  taste,  and  of  the  most  liberal  and  manly 
sentiments." 


THE    WESLEY    VINE— LINCOLN    COLLEGE,    OXFORD. 


THE    WESLEY    VINE— LINCOLN    COLLEGE,   OXFORD. 

ON   March    17,    1726,   Wesley    was    unanimously    elected 
to    a    L^ellowship    in    Lincoln    College,    Oxford,    and 
the  window  over  the  archway  is  that    of  his  Study. 
The  celebrated  Wesley  Vine,  said  to  have  been  planted 
by  him    whilst    residing    in    these    rooms,   is  seen    on    either 
side  the  archway,    and    must  be  now  over   one  hundred  and 
sixty  years  old. 

In  February,    1751,   Wesley    was    obliged    to    resign    his 
Fellowship,   having  married  a  widow  named  Vazeille. 

College    Fellowships    can    only    be    held    by    unmarried 
Clergymen. 


THE    CASTLE.    OXFORD. 


THE   CASTLE,   OXFORD. 


IN  1730,  a  Mr.  Morgan  visited  a  condemned  man  in 
Oxford    Jail  and  spoke    to    one    of    the    debtors.      What 

he  saw  and  heard  convinced  him  that  much  good  might 
be  done  there.  He  proposed  to  institute  systematic  work 
at  that  place,  and  John  and  Charles  Wesley  agreed  to  visit 
this  Castle  at  Oxford  once  or  twice  a  week,  if  the  Min- 
ister of  the  Parish  did  not  object.  Wesley's  father,  writing 
to  him  on  the  subject,  says :  "  Go  on,  then,  in  God's 
name,  in  the  path  to  which  your  Saviour  has  chrected  you, 
and  that  track  wherein  your  father  has  trod  before  you ! 
For  when  I  was  an  undergraduate  at  Oxford,  I  visited  those 
in  the  Castle  there,  and  reflect  on  it  with  great  satisfaction 
to  this  day.  Walk  as  prudently  as  you  can,  though  not 
fearfully,   and  my  heart  and  my  prayers  are  with  you." 

The  first  person  to  whom  John  Wesley  preached 
salvation  by  faith  was  a  prisoner  under  sentence  of  death 
in  this  Castle. 


WINDSOR    CASTLE    AND    TOWN. 


WINDSOR   CASTLE   AND   TOWN. 


IT  is  one  of  the  many  interesting  and  historic  places 
where  John  Wesley  labored.  The  Castle  has  been  the 
residence  ot  the  Kings  and  Queens  of  England  for 
centuries.  The  Round  Tower  is  so  high  that  thirteen 
counties  can  be  seen  from  its  top.  In  the  crypt  of  St. 
George's  Chapel  are  laid  the  bodies  of  the  Sovereigns  of 
England  for  nearly  two  centuries  past. 


NEWGATE    PRISON. 


NEWGATE    PRISON. 


IN  the  distance  is  seen  the  Dome  of  St.  Paul's  Cathe- 
dral,   London.      The    opening    to    the    right    is    the    Old 

Bailey,  where  the  Judges  sit  to  try  the  prisoners ; 
that  to  the  left  is  Newgate  Street.  The  residence  of  the 
Governor  of  Newgate  Prison  is  on  the  extreme  right  of 
the  picture ;  next  is  seen  the  felon's  door,  out  of  w^hich 
condemned  murderers  came  to  be  hungr  the  scaffold  beingr 
erected  in  front  of  that  door,  and  eight  thousand  to  ten 
thousand  people  usually  were  present  at  each  execution. 
For  ten  years  past  the  hanging  has  been  done  within  the 
Prison,  which  is  now  about  to  be  moved  to  a  site  outside 
London. 

In  an  entry  in  his  Journal,  John  Wesley  says  :  "  While 
I  was  preaching  at  Newgate,  a  woman  broke  out  in  strong 
cries  and  tears  ;  great  drops  of  sweat  ran  down  her  face 
and  all  her  bones  shook,  but  both  soul  and  body  were 
healed  in  a  moment." 


CHURCH    OF    ST.    BARTHOLOMEW    THE    GREAT. 


CHURCH    OF   ST.   BARTHOLOMEW   THE   GREAT. 

THE  oldest  Church  in  London  is  connected  with  our 
subject  by  two  interesting  Hnks.  It  is  part  of  the 
old  Priory  of  St.  Bartholomew,  and  a  portion  of  the 
buildings  had  been  turned  into  a  Chapel,  of  which,  in  1753, 
John  Wesle)'  gained  possession  and  opened  to  his  followers. 
This  was  the  Church  where,  at  the  request  of  the 
Pastor,  Mr.  Bateman,  John  Wesley  preached  a  charity 
sermon  to  a  crowd  so  great  that  he  had  difficulty  in  getting 
into  the  building.  Thus,  after  an  exclusion  of  eight  years, 
the  Established  Church  of  England  once  more  opens  her 
doors  to  John  Wesley. 


THE    AA\BLiLATORY~ST.     BARTHOLOMEW    THE    GREAT. 


THE  AMBULATORY— ST.  BARTHOLOMEW  THE  GREAT. 


Tins  is  a  promenade  surrounding  the  Apse,  wliich  termi- 
nates the  east  end  of  the  Church,  where  stands  the 
Communion  Table. 
Between  the  two  massive  Norman  columns  on  the  right 
may  be  seen  the  Altar  Chairs.  The  Tomb  seen  in  the 
extreme  distance  is  that  of  Sir  Walter  Mildmay,  who  was 
Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer  to  Queen  Elizabeth.  It  is  a 
fine  specimen  of  the  Renaissance  style  of  architecture,  and 
is  beautifully  decorated  with  colored  marbles. 


INTERIOR    OF    ALL- HALLOWS    CHURCH,    LONDON. 


INTERIOR   OF   ALL-HALLOWS   CHURCH,   LONDON. 


IN  Lombard  Street,  the  visitor  finds  this,  one  of  the  smallest 
Churches  in  London,  though  elaborately  ornamented 
with  costly  wood  carving.  Here,  John  Wesley  preached 
his  first  extempore  sermon.  The  facts  are  these,  and  they  are 
printed  and  framed  in  the  Vestry  of  the  Church.  \W'sle\',  in 
early  life,  went  to  this  Church  to  hear  an  eminent  Divine,  Dr. 
Heylin,  preach,  who  failed  to  attend.  Mr.  Wesley,  being  in 
gown  and  bands,  seated  in  a  pew,  was  called  into  the  Vestry 
and  asked  by  the  Church  Wardens  to  conduct  the  service. 
Mr.  Wesley  was  in  much  mental  confusion  and  agitation,  not 
having  brought  a  sermon  with  him.  A  woman  who  stood  by, 
noticing  his  concern,  on  being  told  the  cause,  put  her  hand 
on  his  shoulder  and  said  :  "  Is  that  all  ?  Cannot  you  trust 
God  for  a  sermon  ?  "  This  question  had  such  an  effect  upon 
him  that  he  ascended  the  pulpit,  preached  extempore  with 
great  freedom  to  himself  and  acceptance  to  the  people,  and 
never  after  did  he  take  a  written  sermon  into  the  pulpit. 


THK    FIRST    METHODIST    CHAPEL    EVER    BUILT. 


THE    FIRST   METHODIST   CHAPEL   EVER   BUILT. 

IN  Broadmeade,  Bristol,  Mr.  Wesley  erected  this,  the  first 
Methodist  place  of  worship  e\'er  built,  in  the  year    1739. 

It  was  a  source  of  much  trouble  to  Mr.  Wesley,  owing 
to  his  want  of  experience  in  drawing  legal  deeds. 

It  has  been  used  b)'  the  Calvanistic  Methodists  for  many 
years,  and  the  Bible  on  the  Pulpit  is  printed  in  Welsh.  In 
this  picture  we  see  the    F"irst    Methodist    Communion  Table. 

Rooms  for  the  residence  of  the  Preacher  were  built  at 
the  top  of  the  Chapel,  the  only  light  and  air  coming  from 
a  window  which  opened  into  the  upper  part  of  the  Chapel. 
Those  rooms  are  now  used  for  Class  Rooms. 


WESLEY'S    CLASS    ROOM— BRISTOL. 


WESLEY'S   CLASS   ROOiM-BRISTOL 


ARE  the  rooms  spoken  of  on  last  page,  and  here  Wes- 
ley used  to  meet  his  Western  Preachers.  It  was 
and  is  used  as  a  Class  Room,  and  smaller  ones  lead 
from  it.  The  dark  space  at  end  of  cupboard  is  the  door- 
way into  the  private  sitting  and  bed-rooms,  which  were 
occupied  by  Wesley,  who  passed  much  time  there.  It  is 
said  they  are  in  exactly  the  sanie  condition  as  when  Wesley 
left  them. 


THE    OLD    FOUNDRY. 


THE   OLD    FOUNDRY. 


THE  first  Methodist  Chapel  in  London  opened  in  1739, 
the  same  year  as  the  Bristol  Chapel  ;  the  latter  was 
built  on  purpose,  whilst  the  Foundry  had  been  for 
many  years  a  ruin.  It  was  repaired  and  fitted  up  for  preach- 
ing, at  a  cost  of  $3,500,  and  used  by  John  and  Charles 
Wesley  as  the  home  of  London  Methodism  for  forty  years. 
The  portion  to  the  right  was  a  Da)'  School  ;  the  yard 
to  the  left  had  the  stable  for  Wesley's  horse,  and  carriage 
when  he  had  one. 

The    building    on    the    top    was    Wesley's    residence,   in 
which  his  mother  died  in    1742. 


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BUNHILL    FIELD'S    CEMETERY-LONDON. 


BUNHILL   FIELD'S   CEMETERY— LONDON. 


THIS  view  is  taken  from  the  parlor  window  in  Wesley's 
house,    in    City    Road.       It    began    to    be    a    place  of 
interment  when  the  great  plague  was  raging  in   Lon- 
don   in     1665,    when    scores    of   the    plague- stricken    people 
were  buried  in  heaps,   without  coffins,   every  night. 

The  graves  of  John  Bunyan  and  Susanna  Wesley  are 
near  the  left  center  of  the  view  ;  in  the  right  center  a  thin, 
white  Obelisk  is  seen,  which  marks  the  grave  of  Daniel 
Defoe,  author  of  Robinson  Crusoe,  and  near  it  is  the  grave 
of  Dr.    Isaac   Watts,   the  hymn    writer. 


SUSANNA    WESLEY'S    GRAVE. 


SUSANNA   WESLEY'S   GRAVE. 

SHE  was  buried  in  Bunhill  Field's  Cemetery,  in  July, 
1742,  about  thirty-six  years  before  City  Road  Chapel 
was  built.  The  original  stone  having  been  worn  out, 
and  the  inscription  obliterated,  a  new  stone  was  erected  in 
1828,  and  an  entirely  new  inscription  placed  on  it.  The 
walk  has  been  made  over  the  grave,  and  the  foot-stone, 
bearing  the  letters  S.  \Y.  on  its  surface,  has  been  placed 
at  the  base  of   the  head-stone. 

John  Wesley  preached  his  mother's  funeral  sermon 
standing  on  the  corner  of  the  base  of  the  large  tomb  to  the 
left,  where  a  new  stone  has  been  inserted. 


THE    GWENNAP    PIT— CORNWALL 


IHE   GWENNAP   PIT— CORNWALL. 


CENTURIES  ago,  it  is  said,  this  was  once  a  tin  mine, 
and  all  the  metal  having  been  worked  out,  the  mouth 
of  the  mine  was  left  unfilled.  John  Wesley  found 
it  to  be  a  suitable  place  in  which  to  gather  a  multitude  of 
people  to  preach  to  them  the  Gospel,  and  he  so  utilized  it 
many  times.  In  his  Journal,  Wesley  records  having  preached 
to   20,000  people  there. 

In  1870,  a  number  of  Methodists  in  the  locality  (there 
are  only  about  a  dozen  houses  within  a  mile  of  the  place), 
having  obtained  proper  permission,  reduced  the  circumference 
and  shape  of  the  pit  into  the    present    grassy    amphitheatre. 


I  till     t,VM.;N.\.At'     HI 


THE   AUDIENCE   IN   THE   GWENNAP   PIT. 


THE  Amphitheatre  will    seat    10,000   people,    and    many 
can  stand  on  the  tiat   plateau    around.       Every  Whit- 
Monday  a   great    preaching    convention    is    held    here, 
and  people  come  from  miles  around  to  attend. 

This  picture  was  taken  whilst  the  audience  was  listen- 
ing to  the  preaching  on  Whit-Monday,  1887,  and  the  picture 
of  the  empty  pit,  after  the  people  had  dispersed  the  same 
day. 


IN    WESLEY    ROCK    CHAPEL-CORNWALL. 


!N   WESLEY    ROCK   CHAPEL— CORNWALL 


THIS  anything--but-beautirvil  Pulpit  is  built  on  a  solid 
rock,  on  which  Wesley  used  to  stand  when  preachini^r 
in  Penzance,  Cornwall,  and  this  fact  has  given  the 
odd  name  to  the  Chapel.  The  Pulpit  builr  over  the  Rock, 
and  the  Chapel  o\er  the  Pulpit — nothing  beautiful  archi- 
tecturally, but  the  thought  was  beautiful  which  planned  that, 
from  the  rock  where  Wesley  had  preached  the  Gospel  to 
the  people  ol  Penzance  they  should  hear  it  forever,  though 
other  feet  might  stand  there  and  other  voices  proclaim 
the   "  Good   News." 


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GHNERAL  VIEW  OF  CITY  ROAD  CHAPEL  PROPERTY, 


GENERAL  VIEW  OF  CITY  ROAD  CHAPEL   PROPERTY. 


ON    the    right    is    John    Wesley's    House.       The    white 
ObeHsk  in   front  is  the  monument  in  memory  of  his 
mother,     though     she     is    buried    in    Bunhill    Field's 
Cemetery,  opposite. 

City  Road  Chapel  is  in  the  center  back-ground,  and 
the  house  to  the  left  is  the  Parsonage  where  the  second 
Pastor  lives,  the  Wesley  House  being  the  residence  of  the 
Superintendent  of  the  Circuit. 


CITY    ROAD    CHAPEL— LONDON. 


CITY   ROAD   CHAPEL— LONDON. 


A  NEARER  view  of  the  Chapel  proper.  The  Portico 
in  front  was  built  in  1815.  In  the  left  corner  is  the 
entrance  to  the  Morning  Chapel.  The  Benson  block 
of  buildings,  seen  in  the  extreme  left,  was  erected  in  1880, 
and  named  after  the  Rev.  Joseph  Benson,  who  lived  and 
died  in  the  building  which  stood  there  before  the  Ecumen- 
ical Conference. 

The  Block  is  a  complete  nest  of  Class  Rooms. 


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CITY    ROAD    CHAPEL— GHNHRAL    INTERIOR    VIEW. 


CITY    ROAD   CHAPEL— GENERAL  INTERIOR   VIEW. 


THIS  view  is  taken  from  the  South  Aisle  of  City  Road 
Chapel,  looking  towards  the  east   end,  where  are  the 
two  stained  glass  Memorial  Windows,  and    the  blank 
space  then  waiting  for,  but  now  filled  with,    the    window    in 
memory  of  Bishop    Simpson.       There    is    the    ancient    Pulpit 
in  which  Wesley  preached. 

This  may  truly  be  called  the  "  Mecca  "  of  Methodism, 
for  people  from  all  parts  of  the  world  come  here  yearly  to 
visit  the  Church,   Pulpit  and  Tomb  of  John  Wesley. 


WESLEY'S    PULPIT— CITY    ROAD    CHAPEL. 


WESLEY'S   PULPIT— CITY   ROAD   CHAPEL. 


THE    Chair  in  front    of    the    Pulpit    is    now    used    when 
there  is  a  second  Minister  taking  part  in  the  service, 
but    formerly  as  the    seat    of    the    "  Clerk,"    who   said 
"Amen  "  at  the  close  of  each  Prayer. 

Looking  past  the  Pulpit,  you  see  the  marble  busts  of 
Punsheon  and  Gervaise  Smith,  and  of  Dr.  Robert  Newton 
in  the  extreme  lett. 


ClT'i'    ROAD    CHAPEL— RIGHT    OF    COMMUNION    TABLE. 


CITY  ROAD  CHAPEL— RIGHT  OF  COMMUNION  TABLE. 

THE  walls  of  the  Chapel  are  covered  in  many  places 
with  mural  tablets,  in  memory  of  Methodist  Heroes. 
Here,  at  the  south  side  of  the  Arch  over  the  Apse 
containing  the  Communion  Table,  are  three  important  ones. 
The  upper  tablet,  under  the  window,  is  to  the  memory  of 
Charles  Wesley  ;  the  center  one  to  the  Rev.  Dr.  Coke  (the 
"little  Bishop,"  as  he  was  called),  and  the  lower  one  to  the 
Rev.   Dr.   Adam   Clarke,   the  Commentator. 

The  pillar  is  to  the  memory  of  Rev.  Richard  Watson, 
and  the  bust  is  of  Sir  Francis  Lycett,  the  founder  of  the 
Metropolitan  Chapel  Building  Fund. 


CITY    ROAD    CHAPEL— LEFT    OF    COMMUNION    TABLE. 


CITY  ROAD  CHAPEL-LEFT  OF  COMMUNION  TABLE. 


IN  the  north  corner  will  be  seen  a  portion  of  the  Ahar 
Screen  with  the  Lord's  Prayer.  The  upper  Tablet  is 
to  the  memory  of  the  Rev.  John  Wesley  ;  the  one  in 
the  center  to  the  Rev.  John  Fletcher,  and  the  lower  one  to 
the  Rev.  Joseph  Benson.  The  polished  granite  column 
belongs  to  the  architecture  of  the  Chapel,  but  its  base  has 
been  utilized  to  carry  an  inscription  to  the  memory  of  Dr. 
S.  D.  Waddy.  The  pillar  with  bust  of  Rev.  Jabez  Bunting, 
and  still  to  the  left  of  that,  the  bust  of  the  Rev.  Frederick 
J.  Jobson,   D.  D. 


IN    WESLEY'S    HOUSE— THE    OLD    CLOCK. 


IN  WESLEY'S  HOUSE— THE  OLD  CLOCK. 


AT  the  top  of  the    stairs  in  Mr.   Wesley's    house    stands 
this  old  Clock,    in    the    same   old  corner  where  it  has 
stood  for  the  last   hundred    and    ten    years,    and    with 
its    alarm    awakened   Mr.   Wesley    every    morning  he  was  at 
home,   at  4  o'clock,   so  that    he    might  be  in  time   for    the  5 
o'clock  preaching  in  the   Morning  Chapel. 

The  Clock  is  still  in  working    order,    excepting    that    it 
sometimes  strikes  fifty  instead  of  twelve. 


IN    WESLi:VS  HOUSE— FIRE-PLACF    IN    PARLOR. 


IN    WESLEY'S    HOUSE— FIRE-PLACE    IN    PARLOR. 


THE  room    opening    to    the    left    of   the    Clock    was    the 
general    living    room    of    the    Preachers    who    resided 
with    Mr.    Wesley.       At    the    end    farthest    from    the 
door    is    the    Fire-place,    as   it  was  in  the  time   when  it  wel- 
comed Wesley  with  its  glowing  warmth. 

The  general  arrangements    are,    of   course,   modern,  but 
the   F'ire-place  and   Fender  are  intact. 


IN    WESLEY'S    HOUSE-BOOK-CASE,    ETC. 


IN  WESLEY'S   HOUSE— BOOK-CASE,  ETC 


TURNING    your    back    to    the    fire    in    Wesley's    Parlor, 
you  will  see  at  the   opposite  end    of    the    room   Wes- 
ley's Book-case,   in  front  of   which  were    grouped,   for 
the  purpose  of  this  picture,   his  Study  Chair  as  newly  covered 
for    use    at    the    Ecumenical     Conference,    his    Study    Table, 
and  the  celebrated   Tea-pot. 


IN    WESLEY'S    HOUSE-HIS    STUDY. 


IN   WESLEY'S   HOUSE— HIS   STUDY. 


OPENING    out   of  his  bedroom,    in    which    he    died    in 
1 79 1,    is    John     Wesley's    tiny    Study    and     retiring 
room,   his  table  with  old-fashioned    brass    handles  to 
the  drawers,  and  the  cupboard  where  now  is  preserved  what 
is  left  of  the  famous  Tea-pot. 

Through  the  doorway  a  glimpse  is  caught  of  the  room 
that  was  his  bedroom,  and  the  Arm  Chair. 

This  little  Study  is  that  in  which  the  Rev.  Richard 
Watson  wrote  his  Theological  Institute  more  than  half  a 
century  since. 


IN    WESLEY'S    HOUSE— THE    TEA-POT. 


IN   WESLEY'S   HOUSE— THE   TEA-POT. 


JOSIAH     WEDGEWOOD,     the     famous     Staffordshire 
potter,     made     and     presented     this    Tea-pot    to     Mr. 
W^esley.      It  holds  four  quarts  and  was  none  too  large 
for  the  use  to  which  it  was  put. 

Very  early  on  Sunday  mornings  his  Preachers  used  to 
meet  in  the  five  o'clock  Prayer  Meeting  Room  and  took  tea 
together.  When  the  meal  was  ready,  the  "  Grace  Before 
Meat"  side  was  turned  towards  the  guests  as  a  sign  to 
begin,  and  when  the  repast  was  concluded,  the  other  side. 
"Grace  After  Meat,"  was  turned  to  face  the  Preachers. 
They  had  prayer  together  and  words  of  advice  from  Wesley, 
and  then  separated,  carrying  with  them  the  holy  intluence 
of  that  early  meeting  to  their  different  Charges. 


TOMBS    OF    JOHN    WESLEY    AND    ADAM    CLARICE. 


TOMBS   OF   JOHN   WESLEY   AND   ADAM   CLARKE. 


IN  the  Graveyard  in  the  rear  of  City  Road  Chapel,  John 
Wesley  is  buried.      He  was  standing  one  day    watching 

some  workmen  repairing  the  Chapel  when  he  remarked 
to  a  lady  by  his  side :  "I  should  like  to  be  buried  just 
here  amongst  my  workers;  "  and  his  wish  has  been  gratified, 
for  he  is  interred  in  the  midst  of  about  five  thousand  of 
his    Preachers  and  parishioners. 

The  low  grave  by  the  side  of  the  Wesley  Monument 
is  that  of  the  Rev.  Dr.  Adam  Clarke,  the  Commentator. 
In  Wesley's  tomb,  ten  bodies  are  buried.  In  the  other, 
Dr.  and  Mrs.   Clarke  and  their  son, 


ENTRANCE    TO    WESTMINSTER    SCHOOL— LONDON. 


ENTRANCE   TO   WESTMINSTER   SCHOOL— LONDON. 

HERE,  the  Rev.  Samuel  Wesley  was  for  many  years 
one  ot  the  Ushers,  and  here  he  prepared  his  brother 
Charles  to  become  a  student  at  Christ's  Church, 
Oxford.  Charles  Wesley  left  Westminster  for  Oxford  in  his 
twentieth  year,  1726,  and  Samuel  became  head  master  at 
Tiverton  School  in  1732.  He  had  been  in  office  as  a  Tutor 
there  for  nearly  twenty  years,  and  near  that  place  resided 
his  grandmother,  the  widow  of  the  Rev.  John  Wesley,  of 
Winterbourne- Whitchurch. 

The    high    Tower    in     the    background    is    the    Victoria 
Tower  of  the  Houses  of  Parliament. 


CHARLES    WESLEY'S    TOMB-LOKDON. 


CHARLES   WESLEY'S   TOMB— LONDON. 


IN  the  old  Mary-le-bone  Church-yard  is  the  Tomb  of 
Charles    \\  esley,    whose    residence    was    in    this    Parish, 

only  a  walk  of  five  minutes  from  the  Church.  He 
was  buried  the  first  week  in  April,  1788,  at  the  ag-e  of 
eighty  years.  In  the  same  grave  :.re  the  bodies  of  Mrs. 
Wesley  and  their  two  sons,  Charles  and  Samuel.  This 
Monument  was  erected  forty  years  ago,  at  the  cost  of  the 
Methodist  Book  Concern. 

To  the  right  stands  Bishop  Harris,  nearest  the  Tomb  ; 
and  next  to  him  Dr.  DePew  ;  on  the  left  side  of  the 
Monument  is  George  John  Stevenson,  to  whom  this  work 
is  dedicated. 


THE    "DEATH    MASK"    OF    JOHN    WESLEY. 


THE   "DEATH    MASK"    OF   JOHN    WESLEY. 


THIS  Mask  was  cast  from  Mr.  W'esley's  face,  between 
three  or  four  hours  after  death.  The  Masks  of 
Lincohi  and  Napoleon  have  the  eyes  closed  ;  in  this 
they  are  open.  This,  the  original  Mask,  was  kept  in 
Wesley's  House  till  the  Rev.  Benjamin  Rhodes  was  the 
resident  Minister  there,  when  the  City  Road  Stewards  pre- 
sented it  to  him  to  preserve. 

It  remained  in  his  family  till  1866,  when  his  only 
surviving  daughter  was  in  needy  circumstances,  and  she 
found  a  helping  hand  in  Mr.  G.  J.  Stevenson,  who  has 
since  preserved  the  Mask,  which  is  the  only  genuine  likeness 
of  John   Wesley. 


